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Game 1: Penguins Pull Away

Posted Apr 16, 2014
by Aaron Portzline
| 0 comments

Losing a two-goal lead was hard for the Blue Jackets to take. The neutral-zone turnovers must be eliminated, the penalty kill can be sharper, and the game-winning goal that sailed under the right arm of the goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has to be stopped.

But amid the debris of a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night before 18,646 in Consol Energy Center, the Blue Jackets found more than a glimmmer of hope that their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series can be competitive.

Jack Johnson, Mark Letestu and Derek MacKenzie scored goals for the Blue Jackets, while Sergei Bobrovsky had 28 saves. The best way to describe the mood in the post-game dressing room: defiant disappointment.

“I liked the way our guys fought and played,” Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky said. “They made one more play than us. That’s the way the playoffs go some times. We can’t give them odd-man rushes. We gave them too many and they made us pay. But our guys know what to expect now, and they’ll come ready to battle on Saturday.”

A neutral zone turnover sent Penguins forwards Beau Bennett and Brandon Sutter on a 2-on-1 with only Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin back to defend. Sutter’s wrister from just above the right faceoff dot sailed under Bobrovsky’s right arm and into the net.

“I’ve seen him make that save 1000 times,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “A thousand times. It’s one that got by him.”

The Blue Jackets lost all five regular-season meetings with the Penguins, which didn’t seem to bode well for the pressure-cooker environment that is the playoffs. But the Blue Jackets did not appear overwhelmed by the situation, even though 11 of the 20 players who dressed last night were making their post-season debut.

“This is a learning experience for our guys, but we’re here to win,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “We aren’t here just to go to school. Our guys are competitive, and I think … well, I know that they believe. There’s disappointment in losing because we came in here expecting to win and it didn’t happen.”

Richards, as the visiting coach, did not have the last change. Still, he was very successful getting Brandon Dubinsky on the ice against Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, and Crosby -- though he had an assist -- did not take over the game. He was minus-2 in 19:39, winning 15 of 26 faceoff attempts.

Dubinsky played Crosby very physical, putting him on the ice with hits more than a few times and sparking the ire of the Penguins. Scrums formed. Words were exchanged. The temperature warmed.

The Blue Jackets were credited with 48 hits. Dubinsky had a club-high nine of them, while rookie Boone Jenner had seven.

"We’re a pretty physical team," said Johnson, who blocked six shots. "Big strong guys who don’t shy away from it. It’s part of our game and we’re going to make sure it’s part of the game. If it’s not, sometihng's wrong."

The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead only 6:20 into the game when Brandon Dubinsky made a nifty, spinning play to feed Johnson for a clean look on Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

It was the first playoff lead in franchise history. (Yep, the Blue Jackets never had the lead when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.)

The lead grew to 3-1 after Letestu’s power play goal late in the first and MacKenzie’s short-handed goal only 43 seconds into the second.

But the lead was gone in a flash.

The Penguins scored two power play goals in 45 seconds – Bean Bennett at 1:34 and Matt Niskanen at 2:19 – to tie the score at 3.

“There were a lot of responses by our team tonight that I really liked,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “They got the first goal. They got up by two goals. They got a short-handed goal. Our team had to respond, and it did.”

Still, the Blue Jackets felt as if they hung with the Penguins.

“We have to stay out of the box, but I think we can play with them, easily, five on five,” center Ryan Johansen said.

Johnson said he’s looking forward to Saturday’s Game 2. “They’ve only won one game,” he said. “They have to win four.”

Side dishes:

-- The Blue Jackets won 16 of 23 faceoffs in the first period. The Penguins won 33 of 48 in the final two periods.

-- Richards has rolled four lines all season. He shortened his bench tonight. Fourth-liners Jared Boll had 5:44 and Corey Tropp 6:44.

-- Crosby’s assist on Niskanen’s goal was his 106th postseason point, tying him with Kevin Stevens on the Penguins’ postseason point list. Mario Lemieux (172 in 107 games) and Jaromir Jagr (147 in 140) are 1-2. Crosby has played 83 playoff games.

-- Johnson finished with one goal, one assist, six blocked shots and three hits in 24:18 of ice time. His goal was the second playoff goal of his career.

-- Jenner had seven hits, and drew particular ire from Malkin. The Jackets had 48 hits. The Penguins had 27.

-- Letestu got his first playoff goal in his 12th career postseason game. The former Penguin took a game-high five shots.

-- The Penguins are off on Thursday. The Jackets returned to Columbus and are slated to practice at 11 a.m. in Nationwide Arena.

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